If you’re a fan of the Edmonton Oilers, you’ve watched many a frustrating game in recent years where various NHL goons and hatchet men have savaged various Oilers finesse players with impunity.

Ales Hemsky, Taylor Hall, Sam Gagner, they’ve all been roughed up and sometimes knocked out by rough play. All this has left the Oilnoscenti either wishing: a) the Oilers had a Dave Semenko, a Marty McSorley or a Mark Messier who could set things right, right now, with their gloves or sticks, b) that the National Hockey League would effectively crack down on hooliganism, in general, and theintimidation of star players, specifically, or c) both.

Put me in the final category. So it was with some relish that I watched Friday night’s game between the Oklahoma City Barons and the Houston Aeros, a contest that saw big, tough Barons defencemen Colten Teubert do the single best Semenko impersonation I’ve seen in years.

Not only did Teubert come charging to the defence of phenom Justin Schultz, after Schultz had been elbowed and knocked down on a late hit by Aeros player Brett Bullmer…

Not only did Teubert chase down Bullmer at once to make him answer for his cheap shot…

Teubert also beat the living hell out of Bullmer.

When I see such blows to the head as Teubert landed, part of me thinks, “Terrible! Concussion!” but most of me yells, “Give the jerk another one!”

Not a civilized response, but the law of the jungle reigns in pro hockey.

Bullmer certainly had it coming and Teubert had it going, with Semenko-like ferocity and efficiency. It was a pounding that will send a message, particularly if Teubert continues to stand up for his teammates, as he reportedly did Sunday night after Antoine Roussel threw a knee-on-knee hit on Jordan Eberle. Teubert chased Roussel down, reports Jonathan Willis,and fought him.

Teubert is better suited to the policeman role than a weak hockey player like Steve MacIntyre. Teubert is actually on the ice with other decent players, so at times he can immediately go after a culprit, rather than just glower from the bench.

Does any of this policing stuff work? Wayne Gretzky certainly thought it did. Others disagree strongly with the notion.

I’m pretty sure that policing in the MacIntyre style is next to useless. But if a player can at least hold his own when it comes to skating, passing, shooting and defending, then also be a menacing physical force, I’ve no doubt that’s a player who will help a team win.

As for Teubert, with the Oilers last year in an extended stint, he failed to come close to holding his own as a hockey player.

This season with Oklahoma City, he’s been somewhat better.

I watch the games at AHL.com only after they’ve been archived — so I can use the “rewind” button to go over scoring chance plays. As a result, I’ve only seen the first six games of the year so (Game 7 will be posted today). In those first six games, Teubert helped to create eight scoring chances for the Barons, while making mistakes on 13 against at even strength. If a defenceman is doing his job, he will have a one-to-one ratio on scoring chances, so 8-to-13 isn’t up to snuff. But Willis reports Teubert had a strong Game 7, and I’ve also seen more promising signs of smart and sound play from Teubert than I’ve ever noticed in the past.

So maybe he can be a player. He can certainly be a helluva teammate in a tight spot.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the “X” in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.